Melbourne/Sydney Schools

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ccrose3

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So I know there have been a few posts about these schools before, so I'll try to keep this brief. Since the last post was almost a year ago, I'd like to maybe just get some recent opinions from current or former vet students at these schools. I've received a lot of information regarding Murdoch, but not these, so any insight would be helpful.

Basically I'd like to know your likes/dislikes (if any), general view of the program, what you like/dislike about the student culture, professors and educational resources, how you like living there, where you're from if not a local, cost of living and any other information you think is pertinent. I plan on visiting Australia in March if all goes to plan, and submitting applications in August for the Feb 2010 start (I would take advantage of the rolling admissions earlier, but won't have my prereqs nearly done by then, and need to work a little on my GPA).

I live in Austin and was born and raised here. I want to gain a different experience in life, and so far Australia sounds like it fits the bill. A few top things I like about Austin that I would want to keep are a generally warm climate, although I could do w/out the 100+ F weather 2 months out of the year like we have here, a laid back and progressive city and of course a great school. Thanks in advance for your input!

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Hi Ccrose!

I'm a final year at Sydney uni. I'm from Melbourne myself so can answer questions on both cities. As far as cost of living Sydney is a bit more expensive- really high rent, but both are lovely cities- safe, culturally vibrant, and with something for everyone.

The programme at Sydney is good, and I am enjoying the final year- which is completely lecture free and consists of a series of month long clinical placements.

I'm sure Freyamaxine will have some comments on the Melbourne programme.

Feel free to ask any other questions!

Cheers :)
 
everyone seems to avoid university of queensland like the plague...
 
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Hi Ccrose!

I'm a final year at Sydney uni. I'm from Melbourne myself so can answer questions on both cities. As far as cost of living Sydney is a bit more expensive- really high rent, but both are lovely cities- safe, culturally vibrant, and with something for everyone.

The programme at Sydney is good, and I am enjoying the final year- which is completely lecture free and consists of a series of month long clinical placements.

I'm sure Freyamaxine will have some comments on the Melbourne programme.

Feel free to ask any other questions!

Cheers :)

Hollycozza, thanks so much for the info! Congratulations on being in your final year, I bet you're so excited! Both cities sound wonderful.

Do you find that there is a benefit to a 5-year course of study over the 4-year? In the US they're all 4 years, but then again we have to complete 3-4 years of undergraduate study first.

As for the admissions, do most students come in with veterinary experience and if so how much? Although I have experience as a vet tech, I'm concerned that my experiences have been limited (cats and dogs only) and that that may put me at a disadvantage.

Okay, one last question.. :p Do you happen to have any idea what the average and/or typical GPA is of successful applicants (or the equivalent percentage)?

Thanks again!!
 
ccrose, one thing to keep in mind is that most (all?) the Australasian vet schools have require some farm work over break as part of the course - you milk cows, tail (dock) lambs, etc.

I thought I would bring this up because you mentioned in another post about your belief that animal lives should be given the same considerations as human lives. You may find that the farm practical work required in Australia presents you with some ethical dilemmas.

Across the Tasman, at least, we are also required to spend one week at an abattoir (slaughterhouse). You might find the Australian schools also require it.

Just a few considerations I'll throw out there.
 
We had 12 weeks of farmwork when I went through but now there's only 4- plus a week or two of farm skills training on the farm campus at Camden. Additionally we had to do a week at an abattoir, but those who were strongly opposed did not have to go on the killing floor.

We don't do terminal surgeries at Sydney uni either (possibly partly responsible for the fact that I've finished my uni rotation for small animals and have thus far only done half a spey, half a castrate, and half a dental!)

As far as the GPA I'm not sure, the international application process is entirely different from that for local students.

Around half the students are school leavers and the rest have some sort of existing qualification- I started the programme at 22 and seemed to be always around the average age in whatever groups I was in. The level of veterinary experience is hugely varied- from years working as a vet nurse to (seriously) having never held a cat! So you shouldn't be at a disadvantage on that front.

As for whether the extra year is helpful, I think its good that we have more time on clinical placements than can be fit into the shorter programme at Melbourne uni, but if you already have another degree it would probably be nice to save a year (and the fees associated with that year!!!!!!!!)

Unraveler I'm sure more internationals will go to UQ once it gets AVMA accreditation! I'm sure its nothing inherently worse about the course!!!! (Although Melbourne and Sydney both kick butt over Brisbane as exciting cities :p)
 
Hey there! I'm also hoping to go to Australia for vet school.

Ccrose, believe it or not I'm also from Texas! Small world, huh?

I've been getting all my transcripts together and filing out applications, but I got stuck on something. Melbourne wants an outline of work experience plus documentation of said experience. I'm not sure if that's just a statement saying that I was there from my supervisor, or something more. I also wasn't sure what to do about the experience that I can't get documentation for (the vet has moved, etc...). I've sent an email to Melbourne hoping to get some clarification. I so don't want to mess this up!! :) If you come across any info, let me know.

-Snakegal
 
The reason I'm not looking at Queensland is b/c my husband's company only has offices in Melbourne and Sydney. I kinda have to go where he can since he will be footing the bill...:D

-Snakegal
 
Snakegal, if you haven't already make sure your husband starts working immediately towards getting his skilled worker visa! It can take well over a year to actually get one. There's some good posts on yanksdownunder.net with regards to visa timelines (if you haven't found that site already)
 
Nexx,

Thanks so much for the heads up. His company has people who do all the visa stuff for them, so he's on it. I didn't realize though it took so long! It's amazing all the hoops you have to jump through just to go to vet school! :D Or do anything for that matter. All I wanna do is be a vet...

-Snakegal
 
I'm a first year student at Melbourne.

I have been very busy lately (almost the end of semester and assignments due :().

So far I really love Melbourne uni. There are heaps of great things about the school, though there are also some not so great things.

Great things
- fresh specimens for anatomy class
- brand new computers in the computer room
- new girls toilets (finished a couple of weeks ago!)
- really nice lecturers and other students
- super nice librarian (gives us lollies on Fridays!)
- our exams are nicely spaced with always a day between them (also 2 hours instead of 3 hours that I have always had before!)

Not so great things
- it is not made clear what is required of us. This goes for assignments when we are not told what format to write an assignment on, tests which focus on things they have told us that they would not focus on, not knowing where we are supposed to be at certain times
- the timetable changes from day to day. At the beginning of the semester we had anatomy and biochemistry lectures almost everyday and now we have physiology multiple times a day and no anatomy (I like things to be mixed up more so I don't just study the same thing for weeks).
- they keep changing our timetable and not making it clear that they have done so
- Werribee is a hole (clinics and pracs are done here)
- the ventilation/ insulation (I am not a builder so I'm not completely sure) in the anatomy lab is horrible. Our first lab it was about 35 degrees Celsius outside and felt about 40-45 inside. It is freezing now that it is winter.

Overall I really love Melbourne. I decided in grade 9 that I was going to go to Melbourne uni and I'm glad that I made it.

I remember seeing some pictures of Sydney uni vet school's facilities and they seem alot better than Melbourne's. Maybe you could tour the schools before you decide which one to attend?

:)
 
Okay, one last question.. :p Do you happen to have any idea what the average and/or typical GPA is of successful applicants (or the equivalent percentage)?

Thanks again!!

I know one international student (from the USA) that was accepted to the uSyd BVSc program for February 2009 entry with a 3.6 GPA from a top 25 university. That is just one person though so don't take that as the magic number.
 
I know one international student (from the USA) that was accepted to the uSyd BVSc program for February 2009 entry with a 3.6 GPA from a top 25 university. That is just one person though so don't take that as the magic number.

I never post on here, but this seems like an appropriate time to do so. I was just accepted into the 4 year program at Melbourne with a 3.35 from McGill. Hopefully that's helpful. I had a 750Q/650V on my GRE but I don't think they even took it into account.
 
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I know it's a bit late but I've been reading through the forums again after a long absence and just wanted to say thank you for all of the information. I am planning to visit Perth, Melbourne and Sydney in March 2009. Can't wait!
 
Congrats on going to visit Oz- I was there last summer and loved it!! Aussies are awesome!!
 
After just getting back from Australia, I too am going to try to apply. Try being the operative word here. I LOVED Australia!
 
How cool that you both have visited Australia! I am so, so excited. I'm from Austin, TX which is an extremely laid-back city, and is nothing like the rest of the south. It seems like there's the same laid-back atmosphere there as well. Where did you visit exactly? Did you tour the schools? If so which cities and/or schools did you like the best? Any tips for my trip?

Thanks!
 
When you all make some solid plans to stop and tour Perth and Murdoch Univ send me a message here and I'm sure I can arrange to pull a few students together and have a few beers and something to eat and talk about the school, Perth, etc and even maybe show you around a bit (which would require that I get out a do a bit more sight-seeing as well!). That'll probably give me the kick in the butt to get a program started that I've been thinking about anyhow :)
 
When you all make some solid plans to stop and tour Perth and Murdoch Univ send me a message here and I'm sure I can arrange to pull a few students together and have a few beers and something to eat and talk about the school, Perth, etc and even maybe show you around a bit (which would require that I get out a do a bit more sight-seeing as well!). That'll probably give me the kick in the butt to get a program started that I've been thinking about anyhow :)

Wow, that is very generous of you. I would really appreciate that, and would love to take you up on your offer. That is, of course, if you don't mind hanging around a couple of old fogies! :D Okay, well not old I guess, but a little older than most students starting vet school (I'm 29).

The tickets will definitely be booked by Monday at the latest, because that's when I have them on hold until, so I can let you know then when we (my boyfriend and I) plan to be there. Thanks again!
 
Hey, I was just in Sydney for a week, stayed in Newtown, and loved it. I basically just grabbed a $40 weekly red travelpass, and hopped on buses, trains and ferries during the day, walked around and saw a bunch of the city. Sydney has this reputation for being shallow and flashy - compared to Melbourne, especially - but I didn't find that to be true. I think I was expecting another LA, and it didn't feel like that to me at all. Cost of living seemed high, $150-$180/week to share a flat in Newtown, $4-$6 for a loaf of bread, etc, although maybe I just hit an expensive grocery store, I don't know. It was 80 degrees and sunny the entire time I was there, in the depth of winter. In some ways Sydney is progressive, for instance there is a large gay/lesbian community. It is also fairly racially diverse (you'll still encounter the same old Commonwealth casual racism amongst too many whites though :rolleyes:). Sydney is a 24 hour city, still plenty of people in bars and restaurants, riding the bus, walking around till late. It felt pretty safe, although you'll find a fair amount of public binge drinking going on in the evenings. The architecture is quite interesting, there are a lot of two-story attached houses with ornate cast iron balconies along narrow streets. Newtown, the neighborhood just to the south of the Sydney main campus has tons of cheap eats, including a burrito place, although, oddly, not a lot of coffeehouses. Sydney seems to do the coffee-in-bookshops thing really well - try the general-interest Sappho Books in Glebe or some of the bookshops in Paddington. Check out the huge, fig-eating bats around dusk in the trees of the park next to the Opera House.

(FWIW, my frame of reference includes living in San Francisco and Chicago as well as middle of nowhere New Zealand - re: the safety thing)
 
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Wow, that is very generous of you. I would really appreciate that, and would love to take you up on your offer. That is, of course, if you don't mind hanging around a couple of old fogies! :D Okay, well not old I guess, but a little older than most students starting vet school (I'm 29).

Cool, just let me know. And don't worry about your guy's status as 'old' you'll fit right in with me and my friends then as I'm 28 myself.

FWIW, if you are looking at booking a rental car in Perth, I'd recommend http://www.bayswatercarrental.com.au/ They aren't necessarily the cheapest rental around, but they offer unlimited Km's, have nearly new cars, and automatic transmissions if needed as opposed to a lot of the other places around.
 
for some reason(s), i am a little confused about applying to USydney.

the process seems about as time consuming as the VMCAS, without all of
the v. specific instructions. the application itself is only two pages
(handwritten) and then i gather supplementary materials may include a
CV (as resume of experiences), LOR (directly from the source - signed
sealed envelope), a coursework table, official transcripts - anything i am not thinking of (i.e. personal statement)? they gave me the impression that it is very open ended in terms of items you choose to include (i was told to include "whatever you think will help the faculty make their decision"). maybe i am not confused.

though, i am unclear. it is the only school's site that i cannot seem to grasp the prerequisite coursework list. i am eligible to apply to many us veterinary schools as i have most of the usual science courses completed.

has anyone considered using an agent like their international page suggests?

maybe i am thinking about this too much.

-efab
 
Efab,

My understanding for Sydney is that there are generally no pre-reqs outside of your Chemistry/Math/Bio at the High school level (or first year college...). So if you have the usual classes done as required for US vet schools you should be just fine. They have this listed on their future students page which solidifies what I thought, with the addition of physics (high school)
NSW Higher School Certificate or equivalent level Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Biology would be a distinct advantage.

It looks like they also state that International students are not required to submit a "Commitment Statement" which I would think would be your personal statement. *shrug*

I applied to Sydney and Perth by using a company called AustraLearn and never heard anything back from Sydney at all. I don't know if I accepted Murdoch's offer before Sydney replied and AustraLearn stated I accepted an offer already or not--didn't bother to ask either. But I submitted the same materials to AustraLearn for both schools which included transcripts from High School and all my Uni studies, CV, 2 Letters of Recc, Personal Statement, and list of studies being currently undertaken.

As far as using an agent such as AustraLearn... they can be helpful and/or completely mind boggling! I found them perfectly easy to deal with (and free!) and they did not lead me astray too much, but I found they really were only helpful for getting you info packets about the schools; submitting your applications for you; and facilitating your acceptance of an offer; and then giving you travel info/tips that were helpful but with a little digging can be found online or by asking people.

They were not very up to speed as it were on the veterinary programs specifically and would take a while to find out info for me. I recommended them to a couple of my friends who chronically ask for more and more info and were actually given slightly incorrect info that sent them into panic mode (one specifically about Financial aid receipt -- not having a 4 year degree and possibility of still getting grad-school level loans).

I also know many international students who applied on their own without trouble as well. Once you choose to apply to a school with an agent, you are bound to continue that relationship (you/the school/the agent) until you accept/decline an offer from the schools as that's how they somehow manage to fund themselves. My opinion would be to use one, just don't use them as your only source of information when questions come up and don't panic just try to research a bit yourself and if necessary call the school's international office.
 
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But I have a ? for everyone; since it's rolling admissions, and I would love to go to Sydney I feel like I should send in my acceptance of their offer soon before spots fill up. But I am also still waiting to hear back from other vet schools, which won't happen till March 2009. I got in for Sydney's March 2010 class, so I feel like there might still be plenty of time for me to claim my spot. What do you guys think? is it okay to wait? Also, it didn't say in my letter if they were going to award me credit for some of my classes...would it be likely if I got high grades in all my science classes as a bio major?
Also, for whoever asked above, I go to NYU and my gpa is 3.76. So you don't need a 4.0 to get in!

Firstly... congratulations :)

Your offer letter should have included a date by which you had to send a small deposit in to hold your spot. If not, I would specifically call the school to find out when/if you need to do that and when it needs to be in by. Even if you have to turn in a small deposit, you can pay it and then still wait and see what happens with US schools and then if you choose to stay in the US, you will just lose your deposit. Which isn't the ideal obviously, but do what you have to do!

I don't know about Sydney specifically, but Murdoch will give exemptions for some prior classes. Again you may want to contact the school (international office) and speak to someone about that, seeing if any of your classes overlap. You will likely have to provide a syllabus, course description, etc for each class you are looking to get out of.
 
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Hey, I was just in Sydney for a week, stayed in Newtown, and loved it. I basically just grabbed a $40 weekly red travelpass, and hopped on buses, trains and ferries during the day, walked around and saw a bunch of the city. Sydney has this reputation for being shallow and flashy - compared to Melbourne, especially - but I didn't find that to be true. I think I was expecting another LA, and it didn't feel like that to me at all. Cost of living seemed high, $150-$180/week to share a flat in Newtown, $4-$6 for a loaf of bread, etc, although maybe I just hit an expensive grocery store, I don't know. It was 80 degrees and sunny the entire time I was there, in the depth of winter. In some ways Sydney is progressive, for instance there is a large gay/lesbian community. It is also fairly racially diverse (you'll still encounter the same old Commonwealth casual racism amongst too many whites though :rolleyes:). Sydney is a 24 hour city, still plenty of people in bars and restaurants, riding the bus, walking around till late. It felt pretty safe, although you'll find a fair amount of public binge drinking going on in the evenings. The architecture is quite interesting, there are a lot of two-story attached houses with ornate cast iron balconies along narrow streets. Newtown, the neighborhood just to the south of the Sydney main campus has tons of cheap eats, including a burrito place, although, oddly, not a lot of coffeehouses. Sydney seems to do the coffee-in-bookshops thing really well - try the general-interest Sappho Books in Glebe or some of the bookshops in Paddington. Check out the huge, fig-eating bats around dusk in the trees of the park next to the Opera House.

(FWIW, my frame of reference includes living in San Francisco and Chicago as well as middle of nowhere New Zealand - re: the safety thing)
Thanks for the info, it sounds like a fun place. I love bats, so I'm looking forward to checking that out... we have them here in Austin and I enjoy watching them. Everything you have to say about it sounds right up my alley, so I'm looking forward to the trip even more now!
 
Efab,

As far as using an agent such as AustraLearn... they can be helpful and/or completely mind boggling! I found them perfectly easy to deal with (and free!) and they did not lead me astray too much, but I found they really were only helpful for getting you info packets about the schools; submitting your applications for you; and facilitating your acceptance of an offer; and then giving you travel info/tips that were helpful but with a little digging can be found online or by asking people.

They were not very up to speed as it were on the veterinary programs specifically and would take a while to find out info for me. I recommended them to a couple of my friends who chronically ask for more and more info and were actually given slightly incorrect info that sent them into panic mode (one specifically about Financial aid receipt -- not having a 4 year degree and possibility of still getting grad-school level loans).

I also know many international students who applied on their own without trouble as well. Once you choose to apply to a school with an agent, you are bound to continue that relationship (you/the school/the agent) until you accept/decline an offer from the schools as that's how they somehow manage to fund themselves. My opinion would be to use one, just don't use them as your only source of information when questions come up and don't panic just try to research a bit yourself and if necessary call the school's international office.

Efab, I haven't gone through the whole process yet but my response to you regarding Australearn would be pretty much exactly what Nexx said, from the amount I have dealt with them thus far. They have a new contact person who I have been dealing with and she's been a little bit better than the last person, as far as getting back to me sooner. The discrepancy in information regarding prerequisites has occurred quite frequently. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a webinar conducted by Australearn and Murdoch, and during that found out that I was given a lot of incorrect information by Australearn.

I haven't decided if I'm going to send my materials directly through them or not at this point. They have been nice about sending materials to me and answering basic questions, but after so many discrepancies I'm not sure I trust them to send in all my info and help me with the Visa situation. I really think they should have a good handle on what is required of the students if they are to be the US reps, and they don't. Granted, the schools have gone through some periods of transition lately but if I can get correct information directly from the schools they probably should, too.

Same thing happened with the financial aid. They gave me some incorrect info. Luckily I had read a post on someone's blog that goes to one of the Oz schools and after researching it myself, found out much different information than what they had given me... and this was not too terribly hard to find. The only reason I asked them first instead of researching it is because I assumed they would be a reliable source.

As Nexx said, probably a good idea to use them as a source of information, since they can be helpful in some regards, but double-check whatever they tell you elsewhere.

Just my 2 cents.
 
for your thoughts everyone. i love sydney - lived in coogee back in 1993. i would go back in an instant - especially for veterinary school. recently, some information has come light and my desire to apply has waned. perhaps i will change my mind and end up applying. who says i can't move back after vet school? anyway, i appreciate the information.
 
We've officially booked our tickets and will visit Perth, Sydney and Melbourne during March. If anyone that I haven't been in contact with has any suggestions for my visit I would greatly appreciate it. There's only so much to be gained from travel books. =)

Also, the "Open Day" at Melbourne occurs the day before we leave for the states from there, so I'll be fortunate enough to be able to attend that... yay!

Thanks again to all of you that have given your input throughout this thread, it's all been extremely helpful. Sorry I didn't get to reply to the earlier posts as thoroughly, but got sidetracked with school and work. However, I did gain a lot from all of the posts and appreciate the information.
 
For those of you who come across this thread and need to import their dogs into Australia, you may find this information helpful (I'll cross-post on the Australasia/Oceana board also). Upon reading about breed restrictions on another forum I emailed the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and this is the reply I received. Basically my mix-breed pits are allowed, but here's the complete quote from the email for anyone that's interested:

"Thank you for your enquiry regarding the importation of dogs from the USA.
The Quarantine Act 1908 requires that quarantine risks associated with the importation of animals, plants and their products are appropriately addressed. AQIS does this by applying import conditions that are recommended by Biosecurity Australia.

Certain breeds are prohibited under Australian legislation governed by the Australian Customs Service (ACS). Mixed Breeds containing blood line from restricted breeds are permitted for import. The following pure-breeds are not eligible for import:
dogo Argentino
fila Brazilerio
Japanese tosa
Pit bull terrier or American pit bull.
Presa Canaria
Should you require further information regarding prohibited breeds, you will need to contact the ACS:

Australian Customs Service
www.customs.gov.au
[email protected].
Ph: 1300 363 263 from anywhere in Australia or +61 2 6275 6666 from outside Australia."

Here's additional information from the same email in regard to general importation and quarantine of pets:

"The USA is a Category 4 country, described as "Approved countries and Territories recognised by the Australian Government as countries and Territories in which dog-mediated rabies is absent or well controlled. Accordingly, I have attached the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) Information Package 4 for the import conditions applicable to the USA. The information package outlines the steps involved in the preparation of dogs for export and the import conditions that must be met.
The date that the blood is drawn for the Rabies Neutralising Antibody Titre Test (RNATT) will determine the amount of time your pet must stay in quarantine in Australia. One hundred and eighty (180) days must elapse between the date that the blood was taken for the RNAT test (with a satisfactory result) and the date your pet is released from quarantine in Australia. Your pet/s must be in Australian Quarantine for a minimum of 30 days. (Please Refer to Step 5 of the information package 4).
Information about the Animal Quarantine Stations and the services that they provide can be viewed at; http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/cat-dogs/accom
You can also access AQIS's website for further information at www.daff.gov.au/aqis, www.daff.gov.au/aqis/cat-dogs or www.aqis.gov.au/icon.
I hope this is of assistance to you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please quote the Email Reference Number as listed at the top of the email in any future correspondence to assist us in responding to your enquiries more efficiently.

AVAILABILITY OF SPACE FOR CATS AND DOGS AT THE ANIMAL QUARANTINE STATIONS

An import permit does not guarantee a space at an Animal Quarantine Station.

BOOKINGS MUST BE MADE FOR CATS AND DOGS.

To book a space at an Animal Quarantine Station, an approved import permit number is required.

Once an import permit has been issued, contact the relevant Animal Quarantine Station directly to make a reservation with the approved import permit number.

Currently the Eastern Creek Quarantine Station has space available to accommodate the arrival of cats and dogs at any time.

Provision of an airway bill number directly to the Animal Quarantine Station will be required to confirm the reservation closer to the animal’s date of departure.



Kind Regards,

Sarah Neilson
Administrative Officer
Live Animal Imports
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
Phone: +61 2 6272 4454
Fax: +61 2 6272 3110
e-mail: [email protected]"
 
thanks nexx!
So I re-read my letter and contacted the school and I think I'll be fine just waiting to send in the deposit. I am only so concerned because the deposit is not small, it's the whole first semester's tuition!
They said they cannot assess whether I will be awarded credit until I send in an acceptance of their offer, which is really annoying because whether I will get a lot of credit or not is a big factor for me in deciding! I wanted to do a 4 year program, not 5 :( Does anyone at Sydney know if it's possible to do the program in 4 years?
Also, does anyone feel there might be bias against someone who received a degree abroad when/if I apply to internships or jobs in the US? I want to make sure that my skills are just as good if not better than those I would achieve from a US school. Is University of Sydney very up to date with the latest research, news, and equipment in vet med?

Hello!

Nobody manages to get exemption for a whole year it seems. Subjects that people tyypically get exempted from are: chemistry, cell biology, statistics & genetics, and animal production if you have an ag type degree. BNut those subjects happen at different times so you just end up having a lighter semester rather than skipping any time. Also, as an international student you would have to have at least a 0.75 subject load so you may not be able to have as many exemptions.
 
Hello!

Nobody manages to get exemption for a whole year it seems. Subjects that people tyypically get exempted from are: chemistry, cell biology, statistics & genetics, and animal production if you have an ag type degree. BNut those subjects happen at different times so you just end up having a lighter semester rather than skipping any time. Also, as an international student you would have to have at least a 0.75 subject load so you may not be able to have as many exemptions.

That's what basically happens here too.

But on the subject of 0.75 subject load?! What? I assume you mean 3/4... Our international office told us that we could take only one class, or 3-4 credit hours (if it came down to it) without it affecting our student visa. Essentially that the laws permit us to drop down under full-time status as long as it didn't impact when we actually finished our degree. There's some paper to sign apparently if you drop below 9 (of 12) credit hours which I'll find out about this semester. It also does bring with it the possibility of affecting financial aid awards however...

I just wonder how the different schools are reading the laws... funny!
 
That's what basically happens here too.

But on the subject of 0.75 subject load?! What? I assume you mean 3/4... Our international office told us that we could take only one class, or 3-4 credit hours (if it came down to it) without it affecting our student visa. Essentially that the laws permit us to drop down under full-time status as long as it didn't impact when we actually finished our degree. There's some paper to sign apparently if you drop below 9 (of 12) credit hours which I'll find out about this semester. It also does bring with it the possibility of affecting financial aid awards however...

I just wonder how the different schools are reading the laws... funny!

Thats interesting but not how it seems they interpret it at Sydney. I know two girls who got exempted from half of a semesters subjects in first year and they had to take a second year subject to be 0.75 (yep, aka 3/4). Another friend failed a subject and didn't have enough vet credits she could take so she took art history to get her to full time status. Pretty annoying for her since she had to pay for that subject!!!
 
Yeah it's definitely a weird interpretation on Murdoch's end probably, but it'll work in my favor this coming semester at least! The international office never seems quite too sure when I bring them weird questions like this. I think we're guinea pigs half the time.

*shrug*
 
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nexx and hollycozza,
i don't understand what you mean by .75 course load. Does that mean taking 3 classes instead of 4 one semester? Also, if that is what it means, is it possible to take one of the next semester's assigned courses earlier to get it out of the way? I don't know if that makes any sense...but if I get exempt from cell biology for ex, can I take a 2nd or 3rd year class at that point to try and finish my degree earlier? I would love to go to Sydney, but I am just a little worried about paying such a high cost for school for 5 years, especially in a city that's expensive as well. Does Australia offer any international students financial aid of any sort?
thanks!
Since I'm on here I thought I'd take the liberty of trying to answer your question, but they will probably chime in with their own responses. Basically 0.75, or 75%, or 3/4 time, is all the same. It means you are taking 75% of the course load as a full time student. Typically full-time (100%) is 12 credit hours or more, three-quarter time (75%) is 9 credit hours and half-time (50%) is 6 credit hours. I can't answer your other questions but hopefully that helps clear that portion up.
 
Thanks CC :) Yeah a full course load over here is 12 credits (possibly 13). Part of your student visa will stipulate that you need to maintain a course of full-time study which is at least 9 credits.

I can't answer for courses at Sydney, but last year for my first semester (I entered into 2nd semester of first year) I only would had 2 classes (6 credits) based on the exemptions they gave me. They (International office) did kind of give me the option of taking a second year, 4 credit course (with Vet dept approval) or reducing my financial aid accordingly since I would have 'time to work'. I opted to take another course which was Immunology/Quantitative Genetics (they seem to like combining courses here :) ).

Now I assume it's the same at Sydney where here, each course is only offered once a year. That is if you get exempted in something from your second semester of first year, you then would be forced to take something from second semester of second year with the class ahead of you. This is what happened to me and I felt quite a bit behind the curve and had a lot of catching up to do in certain areas of the class. Because they throw in other subject matter in various courses I was missing out on some useful information from Biochemistry and our second Physio 2 which were offered in the first semester of the year.

I ended up doing decently in the course but this semester there is no way I feel comfortable doing a 3rd year, second semester course this time. My options would be Microbiology, Applied Pathology, or Parasitology as I won't have Nutrition/Toxicology, Animal Disease Processes, or Pharmacology/Chemotherapy as background courses.

As for financial aid and expense... well.... You can get Stafford loans ($20k) and GradPLUS loans (Up to total cost of attendance) to cover your expenses. Scholarships and grants are pretty nonexistent (but there are some small ones out there, in the $300-500 range). At Murdoch, the husband of a friend (who both may still read this board) obtained a skilled worker visa (took well over a year to do and a couple thousand dollars) and are in the process of applying for a commonwealth placement within the program which means "in-state" tuition of $9k/year or so. It may not go through, but it probably will--we'll see I guess. Also, as expensive as the tuition and cost of living is when you compare many out of state tuition prices at schools in the US versus 5 year programs in Australia they aren't that far off from each other.

Back in 2003 tuition + cost of living was calculated at $60k/year for Western University ($240k for the program). My Cost of living + tuition at the moment here at Murdoch runs $43k USD/year. I'm still waiting for them to give me the calculations for this coming year. But right now I can't imagine it becoming $10k/year more expensive as I move through the years. For the sake of argument, the drop in the dollar, and increases in cost of living over the year we'll say $53k USD/year over 3.5 more years I'm looking at $228,500 as the total cost of my program, a distinct savings from the 2003 cost of western's program. Granted $53k over a five year program doesn't grant you the same savings (compared to 2003 prices), but what price are you willing to spend to experience living and learning in Australia. I may not end up saving anything in the long run depending on the dollar and financial markets between the two countries, but I'm fairly sure I'll always be happy with my choice.
 
nexx and hollycozza,
i don't understand what you mean by .75 course load. Does that mean taking 3 classes instead of 4 one semester? Also, if that is what it means, is it possible to take one of the next semester's assigned courses earlier to get it out of the way? I don't know if that makes any sense...but if I get exempt from cell biology for ex, can I take a 2nd or 3rd year class at that point to try and finish my degree earlier? I would love to go to Sydney, but I am just a little worried about paying such a high cost for school for 5 years, especially in a city that's expensive as well. Does Australia offer any international students financial aid of any sort?
thanks!

Hi jk202,

As Nexx says, subjects are only offered once per year. I know some girls who did 2nd year anatomy in first year, which gave them a lighter load in second year, but pretty much after year two you'll just be on track to do each subject as they arise, as many of the suybjects have prerequisites you have to do before you can take them. I have not ever heard of anybody doing the Sydney course in four years. Also I don't know of anyone who has started as international and then become commonwealth supported (the $8k per year places). Some people got residency and they became "local fee paying students" (a saving of probably $2k per year) but to get a government supported place you would face some pretty strong competition (and have to meet a lot of government immigration requirements.)
 
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